Google says local results come down to three things: relevance, distance and prominence. You can’t change how far you are from a customer, so spend your effort on the other two. Get your Google Business Profile complete and accurate, then collect the reviews and mentions that show people know you. Here’s the checklist, in the order we’d do it.
How Google decides who shows up on the map
Google’s own help page explains it. Relevance is how well your listing matches what someone searched for. Distance is how far you are from the searcher, or from the place they typed in. Prominence is how well known you are, which Google works out from things like reviews, links and mentions around the web.
The same page says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Keep that in mind if anyone offers to put you at the top of the map for a monthly fee. Ask them exactly what they’ll do.
The checklist
1. Claim and verify your profile
Search your business name on Google Maps. If a profile already exists, claim it. If not, create one. Verification is how you tell Google you’re allowed to represent the business, and Google says verified businesses are more likely to show up.
2. Choose your main category carefully
Your primary category is how Google decides what kind of business you are. “Plumber” and “Water heater installation service” are different things. Pick the one that matches the work you most want, then add secondary categories for the rest.
3. Set your address the right way
If customers come to you, show your address. If you travel to them, which is most home service companies, set a service area instead, and hide your address if you work from home. Don’t invent an address or use a P.O. box or a virtual office. Google’s guidelines don’t allow it, and profiles get suspended for it.
4. Keep hours and phone number accurate
Wrong hours lose calls and earn bad reviews. If you really do take emergency calls after hours, say so. If you don’t, don’t.
5. Add real photos
Your trucks, your crew, finished jobs, the before and after. Not stock photos. Add a few every month or so. It shows customers you’re active and gives them something to judge you by before they call.
6. Get reviews, and reply to all of them
Google says review count and review score both factor into local ranking, and customers read them before they call. A few habits that work:
- Ask every customer, not just the ones you think will be happy. Google’s policies frown on only asking for positive reviews.
- Ask right after the job, while the work is fresh. Text the direct review link from your profile instead of saying “find us on Google.”
- Reply to every review in your own words, good or bad. Keep the bad ones calm and specific.
- Never buy reviews or offer a discount in exchange for one. It breaks Google’s rules and can get reviews removed.
7. Make your website back up your profile
Give each main service its own page, and each area you really serve its own page. Use the city name where it fits naturally, show the same business name and phone number as your profile, and link to your profile from your site. Don’t copy one page and swap the city name. Write something specific, like a job you did there or the neighborhoods you cover. Our local SEO service does this for clients.
8. Keep your name, address and phone number the same everywhere
Google says prominence also comes from what it finds about you across the web, like links, articles and directories. If your phone number is different on Facebook, Yelp and an old directory, that picture gets messy. Pick one version and fix the rest.
If you only have an hour a week
- Twenty minutes: text a review link to last week’s customers.
- Twenty minutes: reply to any new reviews.
- Twenty minutes: upload three to five photos from recent jobs.
Do that for a few months before you worry about anything fancier.
What to expect
Local rankings move slowly. Cleaning up a profile can change things in weeks, and building a solid base of reviews takes months. It also depends on how crowded your area and trade are. Anyone who promises a specific position or a date is guessing.
Common questions
How long does it take to show up on Google Maps?
It depends on how competitive your trade is in your area and what your profile looks like today. Fixing a profile can show results in weeks. Building reviews takes months. Nobody can honestly give you a date.
Do I need a website if I have a Google profile?
A profile can bring in calls by itself, but a website gives Google more to go on and gives customers somewhere to check you out. Google also says your position in regular web results is part of how it judges prominence, so normal SEO still counts.
Do reviews really matter that much?
Google says review count and score factor into local ranking, and customers use them to choose who to call. They’re the most useful thing you can work on week to week.
Can I pay for a better spot on the map?
Not for the free map listing. Google says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Paid ads show up separately and are labeled as ads.
Want a second pair of eyes on your profile? Book a free strategy call and we’ll look at it with you and tell you what to fix first.